Riga Fashion Week opened with a sunset runway show at the ExPorto marina, where a 100-metre wooden pier overlooking the Daugava River served as the runway. The opening evening featured collections by Katrina Ermanovica, a designer representing Latvia’s new generation; Szczygiel, a brand representing the United Kingdom and Poland; and the Italian brand Dekel.
The season’s international programme continued at the Zunda Towers complex, bringing Estonian brands N-20 and Nora Isle, designer Birgit Peerna, the Italian brand Dekel and designers Jakub Suchar, Miłosz Jatelnicki and Mateusz Jagodziński from Poland’s circular fashion initiative Play Sustain together on one runway.
A discussion entitled “How Can We Support Emerging Designers Today?” focused on the professional development of young creatives. Participants shared their experience representing Poland’s circular fashion platform Play Sustain, Estonia’s emerging designer platform Estonian Fashion Festival and Vilnius Sustainable Fashion Week.
The main runway shows took place at Hanzas Perons on 22 and 23 October. Latvian kidswear fashion brand Paade Mode celebrated its 15th anniversary with a special runway show, while the latest collections were presented by Lithuanian brand Valldea, Szczygiel and Latvian premium outerwear brand RainSisters, whose debut runway show was complemented by a specially created rain installation.
The final day of runway shows brought together established names in Latvian fashion and the new generation of Baltic designers. Collections were presented by Natalija Jansone, Lithuanian designer Marija Petraitė and the brand Rimgailaite Costume, Katrina Ermanovica, BAE by Katya Shehurina and Sviests by Sergey Hatanzeisky.
This season, Lithuanian brand Valldea and designer Marija Petraitė stood out for their innovative approach and distinctive creative identities, showcasing the diversity of Lithuania’s emerging fashion scene. The BAE by Katya Shehurina show also attracted attention with choreography by Linda Kalniņa, transforming the collection presentation into a dynamic stage narrative.
Katrina Ermanovica’s collection “Laikā zudis” (“Lost in Time”) was another highlight, presented on the Riga Fashion Week runway exclusively by male models. In the collection “Clothes We Inherit”, Rimgailaite Costume gave used household textiles a new form, highlighting craftsmanship, material reuse and the continuation of garments’ life cycles.
During Riga Fashion Week, the Art Academy of Latvia opened its own contemporary textile art exhibition, “Šķetinātāji. Tekstila manifests” (“Unravellers: A Textile Manifesto”), exploring textiles as an artistic medium, a form of expression and a metaphor. The exhibition will remain open to visitors until mid-November.
The Riga Fashion Week programme also included a joint presentation by Latvian Design Stories, featuring Una Bērziņa, Hannes Rüütel, Leticija Orlova and Lithuanian brand No More Accessories. Separate presentations showcasing new work to the media and industry professionals were also held by Iveta Vecmane, Uzbekistani brand Moel Bosh and Keymono, created by Gundega Duduma.
On the final day of Riga Fashion Week, visitors were invited to explore Latvian designers’ studios and shops and discover special offers. The season concluded with a model awards ceremony, which also recognised the most in-demand models of the autumn edition. As four models received an equal number of runway appearances, all four were recognised: Melissa Pudenko of Deam modelling agency, Margarita Taurine of Freyja Model Management, Patricija Bolevica of Idol and Ketrina Kabakova of MOON Models.
The evening continued with a closing party at Coyote Fly, the official club of Riga Fashion Week.
